By 2020, 2,000 short films had been shot in Russia. Most of them are works by debutants, which is not surprising. Short film is often an underestimated genre by viewers, and certainly not the easiest, but starting your professional journey with it is much more accessible. Besides. Having worked on a short film, a newcomer will be able to be in the place of the screenwriter, and in the place of the director, and in the place of the editor, at a minimum. And with such a wealth of experience in the world of big cinema it will no longer be scary! The authors of this book, experienced teachers of the Arka film school, Vyacheslav Shiryaev and Dmitry Kotov, will tell you all the intricacies of working on the first film. Where to start writing a script? How to build the correct “cardiogram” of dramaturgy? How to make a storyboard without even knowing how to draw? How to save on shooting locations? How to achieve compositional balance and build light? Where to find actors and how to audition? What to do with a film at the post-production stage? The textbook is supplemented with illustrations, practical tasks, a list of films for mandatory viewing, as well as examples of checkpoints for a short film and a simplified call sheet. The publishing layout of the book is saved in PDF A4 format.